Sudden and persistent dinner refusal

[happygoluckyhippo]

My now 18 month old used to be a fantastic eater, then around 16 months lost his appetite completely and would just snack (bread and fruit) and refuse any proper meals. About a month later we got 2 molars through so I put it down to teething. Things improved a little but were not back to "normal".
He is still basically refusing any home cooked dinners even when hungry and I'm not sure how to tackle it. A few mornings he has had a bit of a tremor first thing in the morning which I'm worried is low blood sugar, so I definitely want him to eat a good dinner before bed!
However, if I give in and feed him toast and yoghurt (big faves) every evening he'll just hold out for that surely, and continue to refuse dinner!
Should I feed him toast/yoghurt/fruit/milk just to fill him up or don't offer an alternative to dinner? Opinions and experiences welcome!

*not offer an alternative

Is he eating other things during the day? If the rest of his diet during the day is balanced then I’d probably offer the yoghurt and toast (plain pasta was the go to with my DD) as I tend to think at that age that it’s more important to get something in them and I’m not sure my DDs reasoning was developed enough to quite get that they needed to eat otherwise they’d wake up hungry in the night.
I used to leave it a bit though, if DD didn’t eat her dinner at 5pm I’d calmly take it away and then offer something else about an hour or two later. I also sometimes used to offer DD her main meal at lunchtime which worked well at weekends.

Could this be about control? I had this with mine. I found of I have them a choice of plate, cup etc and maybe a choice of something on plate like (if they understand) "do you want 1 spoon or 2 of this".

Might be worth a try

I think this is normal! We sometimes have dinner refusing that illness and teething aside, usually coincides with a bad nap, a particularly exciting day or a growth spurt. Things that I’ve noticed help are an earlier dinner time and feeding more adventurous food at lunchtime and sticking to favourites in the evening. If he’s happy with toast then can you do a proper cooked meal at lunchtime and a sandwich in the evening? For the most part I don’t offer alternatives (because I know she’s been given food she likes) but will give more milk if she hasn’t eaten well. I would see a doctor about the tremor though.

Don’t make it a battle but do watch out for snacking. See what else can be added or mixed with the favourites- so add hummus for the toast to be dipped in or add cheese spread for protein etc. Yoghurt can have fruit added in either chunks or as purée.

Thanks for your thoughts!
@Isadora he generally has a decent variety - would ALWAYS eat bread, fruit and dairy so I'm not overly concerned about nutrition although would like him to have more veg eventually! He is terrible for wanting a snack when out and about though! He knows I have goodies in the changing bag...
Making lunch his main meal might be a good idea @user and @Expressedways thanks!

Like the idea of offering choice as well @Rat so will try it!

Not sure if those tags worked there!

@Expressedways I was wondering about the doctor. I've only noticed it a few times and not every day so thought I might ask the HV. She's visiting for the baby next week anyway.

You make your usual meal, serve it along with something you know he likes (like bread). You sit down together and eat, talking about anything other than eating.

What he eats, he eats. When the meal is over you make no fuss and clear it away.

It's hard, but this is the absolute best way. My health visitor told me once it's your responsibility as a parent to provide a healthy, balanced diet. It's your child's responsibility to eat it. They will not starve themselves and the less fuss you make the less it becomes about control and power and all the other horrible things mealtimes can become. You serve healthy, balanced food and trust your child to eat enough.

I should add that offering choices worked really well for us too e.g. would you like pesto or tomato sauce on your pasta, would you like your water in the blue cup or the pink cup but probably only from about age 2. At 18 months she wasn’t quite there but definitely worth trying as it can’t hurt! HV is a good shout too, you’re probably right on the blood sugar but it’s worth asking for their opinion. Good luck

@M0reGinPlease nice quote! Will take that on board!
It is tricky to get a good routine just now as we have a wee baby as well, and dad works long shifts so often dinner is a quick reheat from the freezer or a baby ready meal (and he usually eats those, just not what I make...) if I have the two of them on my own.
Love the idea of proper family dinners every day but that's one for the future just now!

Thanks for all the advice, some things to try and I'll definitely worry a little bit less

I'd definitely worry less. It sounds like across the day you're providing all the right things.